Border demarcation should be conclusive

Last week, the governments of Uganda and DR Congo commenced the process of demarcating the disputed Uganda-DRC border near the West Nile District of Arua. The four-day exercise, which started with meetings between officials from both countries in Aruu town, eastern DR Congo last Tuesday, was expected to end with a symbolic demarcation on Saturday.
This demarcation exercise, coming almost a year after a protracted conflict led to the closure of the border point, is long overdue. In June last year, the Vurra customs post became a no-go area after Congolese extended the known borderline by 300 metres into Uganda’s territory and erected some structures. Congolese officials justified their action by claiming they were opening the land for the construction of a parking yard.

This extension provoked the locals on the Ugandan side, who retaliated by barricading the road with stones and tree trunks. Others carried bows and arrows to confront Congolese militia who were guarding the barrier they had erected.
This border dispute is not new and as the Vurra County MP Sam Okuonzi said then, the two governments had an obligation to respect the Ngurdoto Agreement signed between President Museveni and President Joseph Kabila, stipulating that border demarcation by the African Union is yet to be done. Both sides, therefore, had no right to erect new borderlines because the deal states that both countries should not carry out any further construction in the disputed area until a joint technical verification is undertaken.

Last week’s move to commence the exercise will, therefore, come as a relief to border residents who have been living in fear given the precarious situation where militia and locals would roam the border points with machetes, bows and arrows. It should be noted that this is an area where Ugandans and Congolese have coexisted, intermarried and carried out cross-border trade, so resorting to violence over a border dispute not only leads to loss of lives and property; it disrupts businesses and splits families.
We urge both Ugandan and Congolese officials to carry out a conclusive exercise because locals cannot be left to ‘resolve’ this dispute through violence. As Uganda’s Ambassador to DRC, Mr James Kinobe, noted while opening the first sitting in Aruu last Wednesday, the demarcation should not be a barrier but a bridge to link the two countries for easy trade and communication.
We expect Ugandans and Congolese who live along the border point to respect this exercise so that peace prevails.